The Second Wave
by Tinted Windows
Summary: The Seekers know that there are still human survivors living on the planet. Melanie and Wanda come back to the caves from being captured to find that everyone is gone. Just gone. The worst thing that could ever happen, has.
1. Sides

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Host, any of the characters, or the setting. As much as I wish I was Stephanie Meyer, I am not. So don't say I am!**

I woke to the taste of blood in my mouth and a throbbing head. _What is going on? _I think to myself. But I have no answer. The only thing I can remember is the city. The city was the last place I can recall being, and my name is Wanda. Yes, that is my name, and my best friend is Melanie, and, and, and… That's it. I was with Melanie, and we were in the city. As I sit up, I see that the only light is coming from a small candle that is melted down almost to the bottom. Then a door that I didn't see opens and a women in a clean-looking suit walks in and smiles a warm smile at me. I immediately distrust her, after living with humans for so long, I don't trust anything gentle. There is always something evil beneath it.

"Well, Wanderer, it's been a very long time. It's good to see you again." A bell rings in my head that I have met this woman before. Something about her clean cut suit and smile jogs a memory. But it is not the one I would have thought. I see a Healer, and my left arm has a nasty gash on it. The woman smiles and I recognize her almost instantly. She is the healer that was there the night I did my first raid. To get medicine for Jamie. Jamie! I completely forgot about him, is he worried about me? How long have I been away from him. Oh, I can't remember, all I know is that this healer knows that I am no longer loyal to the souls. I have turned sides.

*** 


	2. Escape

**Sorry the last chapter was so short. I was just starting and didn't know where I was going with the story. Anywayyyyy, REVIEW!!!! Here is the next chapter, I hope you like it.**

The Healers name is Grows Towards The Light, but she said I can call her Light. I still don't trust her, but I am more comfortable being around her. At least she hasn't tried to kill me. Yet.

"Where is Melanie?" I ask before I can stop myself. That was stupid of me, they don't know Melanie, or that she survived. I might have just ruined everything

"Who is Melanie? When I rescued you from that human I didn't see anyone else around." Light looks at me curiously and tilts her head to the side. But it seems staged, then as if some timer has gone off in her head, Light's smile is wiped off her face and she looks crazed as she continues. "I haven't seen you in a while, has anyone, Wanderer? Has anyone seen your Seeker either? Because everyone I have talked to hasn't. They haven't seen or heard from you for almost two years now. That seems very odd to me. You know, most souls are very sociable. But, no. You are different. You have turned your back on your fellow souls! How could you be so selfish? To help the humans stay alive and share all of our secrets with them! How could you?" Light had left me some food, but as she left the room, she kicked it and the warm soup was flung and smeared against the walls of my cell. Funny how I already think of myself in a prison.

My cell is not large, maybe three feet by three feet. There is no bed, no windows and the only thing I can smell is the awful stench of mold. Time loses all of its meaning, as it did when I first lived in the caves. The only measure of time that I have is when my meals are dropped off. I flit in and out of sleep for a couple of days before Light pays another visit. It is extremely similar to the first conversation we had, except that she asks me questions about the 'rebels', it takes me a second to realize that she is talking about the humans. My new family. I don't give her any information, not how many there are or where they live or if they trust me. I will not let her take advantage of me. Ever.

Again, she gets upset and I don't get fed for some time, but then the food starts to circulate thought the door again and I feel better. Better enough to wonder why Light is being so awful. I can only remember humans having the capacity to hate that much; with so much fire that it is a wonder they don't burn from the inside out. I don't know what is bringing this kind of hate out in a soul. I am beginning to think that maybe Light has a dirty little secret of her own.

Maybe she has a Melanie, too. Like my Seeker had Lacey. Maybe I will be able to help bring peace to the inner war that is going on inside her head, but I doubt she will let me help. But I don't think she wants to make peace with her Melanie. I bet Light just wants her to go away.

Days past and nothing happened, no one talked to me; I didn't have any way to pass the time, so I just thought of Ian and how much I miss him. I haven't seen him in so long. Almost three weeks, and he is probably worried out of his mind. Nothing eventful happens, then one day, I wake up and there is something laying on the ground next to me. I noticed that the hand writing is Melanie's. I am so shocked that I don't even register that the ink has been smeared and the paper crinkled and recrinkled. All I know is that Melanie is alive and has found me. There is a match next to the letter and I light the candle and begin to read.

_**Wanda,**_

_**It's Mel, I don't know where I am, don't worry, I can take care of myself. You NEED to get out of here. When you walk out the door, go to the left and there will be a stairwell. Take the stairs to the top and there will be more directions. Stay safe, give love to Jared and Jamie for me – Mel**_

I read and reread the letter until the message sinks in. I get my candle, blow it out and grab the box of matches. Before I can talk myself out of staying, I go out the door and to the left. Just like the note said, there is a stairwell. I take the stairs to the top and, sure enough, there is a ball of old paper that looks naturally thrown to the side. But I know Mel left it for me. I am so nervous that I will get caught and punished for leaving that I just stand there on the roof for 15 minutes till I remember that Mel said that I had to get out of here. Without any hesitation, I lunge for the note and am running down the fire exit to the street below. I disappear into the darkness and am greeted by a familiar hand on my shoulder.


	3. Radiant Sun

**Alright, this chapter is special for Web Girl 1 for making me want to write more. I know that that last chapter jumped around and around, but no worries. My thoughts are totally organized now. Don't forget to review!!! That is the only way I can make it better. REVIEW!!!!**

I turn around and see Melanie's silhouette in the shadows. She is standing with her back straight and her head held high, her usual stance; I can't see any of the features on her face though. She turns her head and looks at the entrance of the alley that we are standing in. It surprises me that she hasn't said anything yet, but I push it out of my mind. I am just so glad to see her; I thought that Light had her. Because Light thought that she 'saved' me from Mel. Oh well, we are here now and can go home. Mel turns back to me and there is some light coming in from the alley. It makes me gasp to see the reflection of light coming from her eyes. Then I see the sign that it is not Mel that is standing front of me, but a soul.

Light spills into the alley and I can see nothing but the brightness radiating from the soul's eyes. I take a step back and the soul mimics my movement by taking a step toward me. There is a look of horror on my face as I register how different she is with a soul inside her. Melanie's hands are on her hips and there is a blankness on her familiar face that I have never seen before. My best friend is now a stranger and I am fighting back tears. She has always been the strong, not me.

How could this have happened again? I can't imagine being a host, let alone surviving the first intruder of my body only to have my body taken away again. How could this happen? I wonder if Melanie is still there inside, but that is such a stupid question. Of course she is still there; no way would Mel go down without a fight.

"Who are you?" I ask cautiously. I wonder if this is really happening, or if I am going to wake up any second in my cell. Waiting to be interrogated.

Unfortunately, Mel's body answers with a calm, gentle voice only a soul could create, "I am Radiant Sun; I came from the Flower Planet." Ah, Radiant Sun, no wonder she was drawn to the sunny south, she was a flower. "Who are you?" Radiant Sun asks, she doesn't seem suspicious or scared, just curious.

"My name is Wanderer; my friends call me Wanda, though." I mimic her tone to try to blend in and then, hopefully, I will be able to invite her somewhere. Somewhere out of the way, so I can do the procedure to remove the soul without anyone noticing. "Do you have any friends you are staying with?"

"I am staying with my sister in Gilbert; it is just east of Phoenix."

"Oh, I hate to impose, but I really need to use a phone could you give me a ride to my friends house? She lives in Gilbert, too."

"Of course, you poor thing, I am headed home right now! You can come along; my car is just parked in this alley." It still surprises me how nice and understanding the souls are, I am used to humans who only do favors if they gain something from it. Not just to be nice, like the souls.

*******

The inside of Radiant Sun's car was nice and new, It felt weird seeing Mel out in broad daylight, though. I just kept forgetting that it wasn't Mel, it was really Radiant Sun. We turned a corner and I saw my old house. It was vacant still, which I found odd. But I pushed the thought from my mind. It wasn't important. I would have plenty of time to talk about it with Mel in a few minutes.

It was smart of me to ask Doc to stock some of our hideouts with medical supplies, now I would just invite her in. Being the polite innocent that she thought I was.

"Would you like to come in? My friend makes the best lemonade you have ever tasted! Oh, please come inside. It's the least I can do; after all you drove me all the way out here." I knew it was a stupid reason to invite someone in, but Radiant Sun was ecstatic to have found a new 'friend'.

"I would _love_ to come inside! Thank you so much for inviting me. You know, I absolutely adore lemonade!" And with that, we walked into my old apartment. I felt very exposed as I walked in the door of my old home; I haven't walked freely in daylight in almost two years. Anyway, we walked into the living room and I addressed Radiant Sun, "Make yourself comfortable, I will be back with the lemonade in just a minute.

I hurried into the hallway with the linen closet stocked full of chlorophome, a scalpel, heal, seal, clean, no pain and smooth. It was simple enough to just grab everything I needed and head back through the kitchen to Radiant Sun.

"Here, you should use this," I hold up the rag with the chlorophome in it, "to clean your hands before we drink the lemonade." I walk over and hand the rag to her. Radiant Sun puts the rag in between her hands and starts to 'clean' them. I jump on the opportunity, it might be the only one I have. Before Radiant Sun can make a noise, I jump onto the couch and shove the rag into her face. She is breathing deeply and having trouble getting air. That is the point, now she will have to breathe in the chlorophome. Radiant Sun takes one last shaking breath and then goes still in my arms. Perfect.


	4. Gone

**Hahaha, I LOVE cliff hangers! Anyway, here is the next chapter. ENJOY!!! BTW, I don't own any of the characters in this story. Do I look like Stephanie Meyer? Well, most of you don't know me, but trust me, I don't look like Stephanie Meyer.**

I will have to move quickly if this is going to work. I grab a cryotank from under the couch and move Mel's body to the coffee table. I don't know how much time I will have to get this done, so I think fast. Alright, I need the scalpel first; the bladed tool is in my hand before I realize that I even picked it up, so I make a deep incision at the base of Mel's neck. This has to be the fourth time that this cut has been made; I can't imagine what that is like, for a human. The blade sinks deep into her skin and blood immediately starts the flow. Ugh, I forgot to get towels. I run to the closet and grab the first things that my hands encounter. When I reach the living room, scarlet is staining half of the floor. I should have thought this through!

I put some towels on the ground and then place the remaining ones on the coffee table under Melanie. The next step is to retract the soul. As I slide my hand into the deep cut I just made I feel the warm body heat of Mel. It is strange to be in this position, digging around in Mel's head. But I have a feeling that she will thank me later. And now I can feel Radiant Sun! Gently, I remove Radiant Sun from Melanie's body until she is crawling in my hand. The cryotank is sitting right beside me, so it is easy enough to turn it on and slide Radiant Sun in.

I have to stitch up Mel, and as I am doing that all I can think of is getting home. So that I can see Jamie and Ian and all of my new family. Even Kyle has been nicer towards me since I helped out with Sunny. I am putting smooth on Mel's fast-healing cut when I am anxious that I did the procedure wrong. Maybe I accidentally cut part of her brain and she never wakes up? But I see her chest move and know that she is coming around. Thank God. Now all I have to do is wait for her to resurface.

***

As it turns out, Mel had been aware of everything that had happened in the last week, so there was no need to explain anything. The moment her eyes opened and she smiled at me I thought I was going to die of happiness. Then, with some unspoken directive, we started cleaning the house and getting ready to head back to the caves. We are going home. The blood was a hassle because we had to _deep_ clean it and scrub for a couple of hours. The towels and coffee table were easier to take care of. It's amazing how far a little bit of bleach will go.

We still had to ship Radiant Sun off on a shuttle, so we had to wait until around midnight to sneak into the parking lot of a hospital. I decided to send her to the Flower Planet. She seemed to like it enough to pay another visit. After all, she kept her Flower name and didn't change it to a human name. Radiant Sun will enjoy the Flowers more than Earth, I have no doubt.

The hospital we usually drop the souls off at was too far away, so we settle with a small local hospital. It is just like any healing center, extremely white walls, clear windows, clean-cut everything. It is all sterile and too perfect to be trusted. I drive the van back around to where the shuttle planes are loading. It takes a while, but I spot one that is heading to the Flower Planet. Then, with Radiant Sun safely stoaded away, we leave this awful city behind. It is still very dark, so Melanie and I go back to my apartment to rest.

By dawn we are off, Melanie was in the back of the car telling me directions and I was in the driver's seat taking us to the caves. I was restless and the drive was long and uneventful, which didn't help. I was glancing out the every few seconds, and constantly switching the radio station. After about five hours of driving we reached the turn off to the rock garage that we usually store all the cars. We didn't even bother waiting until it was dark to pull into the rock garage where we usually store the cars.

"Hey, Mel?" I ask, because I bet she has more information than me. Even though I've lived here for a year, they still don't trust me completely. It secretly hurts, but I can't blame them for not trusting me, after all, I destroyed their world. If I could change the fact that the souls found this planet, I would in a heartbeat. But that is not up to me.

Her head pops out from the back seat with a curious expression on her face, "Yeah?"

"Do you know why all the other cars are gone? Was there supposed to be another raid while we were gone? Any ideas?" I can't stop the questions, I know she won't have time to answer them, but I keep firing them, "Are we meant to be here? How long have we really been gone?"

"Whoa, whoa, Wanda, slow down. I don't have any idea where everyone is or why the cars are not here. This is absolutely the best place to be, even if the others are temporarily gone. They probably left to find us. Besides, it's not like they could move _everyone._" While Mel is explaining, I begin to relax. She is speaking nothing but truth. It would be ridiculous that everyone would be gone. I bet only a few would have left to come and find us. Well, they'll have to back sooner or later. And now I am completely relaxed, I don't even know why I was worried.

"Okay, are you ready to go?" I am itching to get back inside our safe haven. I feel so vulnerable without the guys here. We've already been held captive once when the guys weren't there. They are strong and fast and would protect us with their lives, I wish they were here.

"Definitely," is all that Mel says. Then she is getting out of the car because dusk is falling quickly over the desert. Time to go. I follow her lead and get out of the car, heading towards the mountains that house all the people we love.

*******

Our steps are echoing all through the long hallway that leads to the storage area. It is eerily quiet and somehow feels colder and more sinister since we were last here. There is definitely something off about it; everyone should be waiting for us. Why aren't they greeting us? I am starting to feel anxious and break into a full out run, Melanie trailing behind me. All of the passageways we go through are completely empty, and they look like they've been that way for a while. I have to stop because I am doubling over from the sharp panicked breaths that are bringing my oxygen level down. No matter how hard I try, the hyperventilating doesn't stop and soon Melanie leaves to see where everyone is. She must be gone for at least an hour before she finally returns to the spot where I collapsed. My breaths are low and even, but my mind is still racing with wild thoughts of my entire family being slaughtered. Totally wiped out and empty, filled with other souls, or simply lifeless bodies.

Mel approaches with a look of complete horror on her face. "They're gone. All of them, gone. What did you do?!?" Now it is her turn to hyperventilate. Miserable tears are streaming down her face, which is so out of character for her. She has always been the strong one.

"I didn't do anything! Are you absolutely sure that everyone is gone? Did you look everywhere? Everywhere?" I am determined to calm her down, so I go on my own little investigation. _Someone_ has to be here.

As I pass all of the empty bedrooms and bathrooms and fields the truth slowly starts to dawn on me. Everyone is gone. I have no idea where, but I know that the situation is far worse than anything I've ever encountered. The worst part of the new caves is the silence. Every breath I take is carried all through the caves, every step; every whisper of a sound reverberates throughout the all the walls and rooms. And there is no living thing in here besides me and Mel.

I slowly make my way back to Melanie, trying sort out my emotions so that we can get through this. We just have to find everyone and then it will be simple enough to retract the souls, as I have done easily 20 times, and relocate once we find everyone. When I get back to Melanie she is sitting against the wall, no signs of tears on her face what so ever. She looks up as I approach and there is a blazing determination in her eyes. She must be thinking the exact same thing as me because she opens her mouth to talk. Before she can say anything, I hold up my hand to cut off her words. She closes her mouth and I nod, copying her expression. _Translation: I know we have to find everyone, I am totally on board._

The second wave of souls has swept over my new friends, and I will not rest until I get each and every one of them home. I will do everything in my power to save them.

She nods and we both leave our home to find our lost family. The next time we are here, we will be here with everyone.

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	5. Jamie

**Ta Da!!! Here is the next chapter. I finally got it up. My computer was being stupid. So here it is. ENJOY!!!**

"Wanda! Stop thinking about it. Ian will be _fine_. Besides, It's not like he left the country." I give Melanie a doubtful look. He could be anywhere, even outside the country, if he chose to leave. I sigh and try to pay attention to the road. We have been searching for anyone and everyone we know for three months with no luck at all. The determination I had at the beginning is still inside me, but instead of a raging fire, it has settled into a dim candle. It's not as if I don't care anymore, but my hope is draining. I fear we will never see out human family again. Mel and I had gone through each state on the west side of the country, spending about 5 days in each. Scoping out cities, small towns, and random gas stations. Anywhere a normal soul would be. We had done a whole sweep of the nation and we were back at tour starting point. Arizona. Mel would only let us stay here for one more night. I was anxious to get out of here too, by now Radiant Sun's friends will know something is wrong. If they see Mel they will definitely approach us, that is the last thing we need. Besides, almost all of my hope has been completely expelled from my mind.

I awoke, in a cheap motel, in the morning to find that Melanie was already packed and ready to go. Before I could change or do anything to make myself presentable, she shoves me out the door. She wants to leave NOW. But, I feel a pull inside that takes the car down a very familiar path. Almost against my will.

The only excuse I have for what I am doing is that maybe one of our humans remembered where one of the 'hideouts' were and encouraged their soul to move there.

"Wanda, where are you going? This is most definitely not the way to Houston." She sounds irritated, so I try to reason with her.

"Mel, I am going to drive through my old neighborhood. Maybe someone remembered that I had lived there and had their soul move close to it." It seems like a weak excuse, even to me, but we are already driving down my old road. It isn't until we are passing by the community pool that Mel shows any emotion, I glance at her and see the most intense expression on her face. But, she almost looks… hopeful. She springs from her seat and climbs into the passenger seat.

Mel had her gaze trained on a figure seated on one of those high life guard benches. As I'm looking over there, I nearly drive us into a ditch, so I swing around and pull into the parking lot of the pool. Mel doesn't seem to be able to talk, so I look to the boy she is staring at. The dirty blond hair and deeply tanned skin is instantly familiar. Now I know why Melanie is beyond words. Because when the boy turns around, I see Jamie looking straight at us.

***

Melanie is delirious; I think that she would jump out of the car right now if I wasn't holding onto her arm so tightly. She is screeching at me to let go, but I can't do that. There is no chance, that if I let her go, that she will not blow our cover. The last thing we need is Seekers on us. I have to yell several times before she begins to calm down, "MELANIE, listen to me! Melanie! LISTEN! Alright, I am going to go talk to him. Okay? Then, I will invite him to hang out; we will do the procedure and then leave. If I let go of you will you get out of the car?" Melanie is unresponsive,"Melanie?"

"I will stay in the car; just let me get in the back before you leave." Mel is talking in a strained voice, but I will take what I can get. She casts a desperate look at Jamie and then jumps into the back seat.

I get out of the car and softly close the door. There are tall, definitely not wild, trees around the perimeter of the lot. They look like pines, but those are only in the mountains, right? And the dirt under my feet is soft and seems to be overturned regularly. I am relaxing with every step I take toward the pool. Jamie and my hosts' body are almost the same age. So, it will be weird and I will have a whole lot to deal with Melanie later, but I will be able to flirt with the soul inside Jamie and invite him to hang out. Hopefully, he will come. God, Mel is going to kill me for what I am planning.

As I approach Jamie, I see a slight look of concentration and surprise cross his face, but act like I haven't. I don't want to tip off the soul that I know Jamie. Maybe the concentration look was an internal conversation; I used to have those with Mel all the time. I lean in close and say flirtily, "Hey,"

"Hi, what's up?" he says this with all the confidence in the world, what a cocky little soul. I smile sweetly and say nonchalantly, "Nothing, just hanging out. I'm Wanda, by the way. What's your name?"

Of course I already know his name, but Jamie smiles and says, "I'm Aqua Floater, I'm from the Dolphins. Wanda is an interesting name. How did you get it?" He seems genuinely curious and my face falls. Is Jamie totally lost inside him, is this the soul talking, or Jamie playing along? I don't know which, but my best chance to find out is to keep up this ridiculous plan.

"Well, I've been to every world except the Fire Planet, so they call me Wanderer. I shortened it to Wanda. The Dolphins was a nice place. How did you like it?"

"It was nice enough, I loved having all of my thoughts heard, but I find Earth much more interesting. I like discovering things, so this planet is a better fit."

"Oh, have you figured out how girl's minds work?" I snicker at this, before us souls got here; it was a constant argument how women were confusing and 'overly sensitive', while men were desensitized and had a huge ego. I at least agree with the large ego stereo-type.

Jamie gives a broad smile and shakes his head, "I haven't quite figured that out yet. Can I get some insight from you?" Perfect, he is picking up on my flirting, this is SO weird. Surely Melanie is watching, and about ready to rip my head off. She will just have to deal. I was about to save Jamie.

"Not here," I say, "I burn easily, that is the last thing I need right now. When do you get off?" I believe this was a common phrase. **Translation: When are you free to hang out with **_**me**_**?**

Jamie looks pleased with himself, "I get off in 15 minutes, can you wait that long?" I nod enthusiastically and head over to a lawn chair on the opposite side of the pool. Jamie has a clear view of me and I stare at him until he hops off of his lifeguard bench and heads over to me.

"Hey, my house is down the street, want to hang out?" Jamie seems very excited as I lead him to the car. I get there before him and see Mel shooting glares at me. I try to ignore her, but it is hard to miss. I sigh, _she is going to _kill_ me_, I think.

When we reach my old apartment, I lead Aqua Floater into the house and leave the door open so that Melanie can get in. I hear the door close behind me and grab the chlorophome aerosol spray can. Jamie turns around to face me and I spray it in his face. I am just catching him and moving his body to the coffee table when Mel comes in with everything I need for the procedure.

***

I am sitting on the couch next to the table, Mel is pacing the living room, casting glances at Jamie's barely moving body every few steps. He should be waking up any minute. I don't know how much chlorophome he breathed in, but I hope he wakes up.

The next 5 hours are the worst in my entire life; I imagine they are the worst of Mel's, too. The only moving part of Jamie is his chest, he hasn't shown any signs of waking up. Maybe there is a twitch of his finger, or a flickering eyelid, but other than that, he is catatonic.

"Mel, it's 10 o'clock, we have to get to bed. We need to leave by 4:30 tomorrow. I'm sure Jamie will have woken up by morning. Trust me." I am pleading with her now; we have almost completely switched places from this morning. I am desperate to leave, and Mel would give her life to stay here. She gives a tight nod and heads towards the couch. I sigh deeply, that is the best I will get out of her. So, I bid her a goodnight, turn out the light, and head down the hall to my room. I can only pray that Jamie will be awake by the time we have to leave tomorrow.

My dreams were awful; I don't think I got any real sleep. They mostly focused on Jamie. Jared and Ian were thrown into the mix, but it was basically all Jamie.

_Jamie is lying on his stomach in the middle of a white room. The walls and floor and ceiling are white, so we are caged in a room that looks like it could go on forever. You don't know where anything is until you touch it, it is a prison. But this is all going on in another part of my head, most of my attention is focused on Jamie. So, I run to him. I've never run so fast in my life, but Jamie makes me do things I've never done before. He made me a sister, gave me a motherly instinct, he showed me what family was. He was the first one to believe me and Mel, and I love him for that. As I reach Jamie I see that he isn't moving. At all. His chest is still and there is no way that he is simply sleeping. I can't breathe, it's like my throat has swollen to twice its regular size so that oxygen isn't getting to my body. I reach down and my heart is beating so loud I can't even think. When my hand touches Jamie's shoulder my heart skips a beat in its extreme tempo, his skin is ice cold, like life has been drained from him_. Oh, God no! No, no, no, no! Why Jamie? No, please let it be someone else. Anyone else! _I think. I reach down again ond turn him over. Tears are streaming freely down my face as I take in his blue lips and lifeless eyes. I killed him, it is all my fault. If I hadn't been put in Melanie, I wouldn't have led the seekers to him, then he would still be Jamie, and he would live. My face is covered in tears. I am getting up to wipe them off when I hear a loud whooshing. It is coming from above me, it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the brightness of the ceiling, but then I see it. Thousands of gallons about to crash down on me. Then I am swept up in wetness._

"Wanda! Get the hell up! We are _late_!" Melanie is screaming at me. I open my drowsy eyes and see her hovering over me.

"What!?" That has to be the worst awakening I've ever had, and it doesn't help that I had just had the worst dream in my life. Melanie is dressed and ready to go; she is throwing clothes everywhere and telling me to hurry up. _Like I could forget our situation?_

"Hello? We have to get going. Duh! Come on! I have the car waiting in front, I moved Jamie into the back so that if he wakes up I will be there." She is trying to hide it, the pain, but I've spent enough time with her to know that she is being torn up inside. So, Jamie hasn't woken up yet. Mel is not going to give up, neither will I. If Jamie can wake up, he will be with us. I put on the clothes Mel threw at me and brush through my hair. I am heading down to the car when I see a cryotank lying on the ground. _You did_ not, _Mel!_ I think.


	6. Awakening

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Melanie is already in the car when I get outside, I think she is about to drive away, actually, when she sees me coming. Even though I can't hear her, I know she is sighing. At what, I have no idea. Then she really looks at me, sees my expression, which I'm sure is murderous, and her eyes dart down to my hand. In my hand is the empty cryotank, she knows what is coming. I open the door with such force that it snaps forward and I just have jumped in when the rebound has it slamming back at me. I turn to glare at Mel and she hops in the back with Jamie. If he weren't here, I would probably start something with his inconsiderate, disgusting sister.

I pull violently into the lane that leads to the highway. Dear God, I felt like hurting something. I cannot control my fuming, my chest is heaving and, when I look in the mirror, I see a red-face fury staring wildly back at me. I _can't believe_ Mel did this. This! It was my _one_ condition for showing them the procedure. Jesus, she has no limits! Ah, oh, my God, I think I am going to kill her. Ahh!

In the rearview I can see Mel looking anxiously from me to the cryotank to Jamie, and then back to me. Good, she should be nervous. I sure as hell would be. When we hit the highway, I floor it. I am beyond worrying about the seekers. Everything except the end of the highway is out of my mind. When we reach the first gas station, I pull into and turn around.

"Mel, would you talk to me inside for a minute?" I am having a hard time controlling my voice; she looks back at Jamie's unmoving body and returns her eyes to me. I can see that she will not leave him, and it's not like we can drag his unconscious form through the store. God, she is so stubborn! Fine, I lock my gaze with her and see defiance flash behind her eyes. Then, with a soul-deep sigh, climb into the back. I am more careful with Jamie than I will be with his sister. I gently slide him over to the side to make room for me. As Mel starts to object, I cast a death glare her way and she is silenced.

"Wanda, I know you are upset. I get that, but really… " She stops there, as if that would be all it took to calm me down. She can do better than that, I know, and she will have to. We sit there for a good, solid five minutes before I reply. I want to make her feel like this for as long as possible. I will definitely feel bad about this later, but now? Now, I am enjoying… a lot.

"Melanie, I have forgotten the one condition I set before teaching you how to retract a soul from a human. Can you _please_ jog my memory?" Melanie gulps and looks down. I've never seen her act like this. It feels weird and not… right. Ugh, now I feel bad. But I just can't stop.

"Um, I don't remember either. Sorry, but I just don't know." She is still looking down; when I don't respond she finally looks at me. Mel seems to be paralyzed. Tears are beginning to form and I instantly felt horrible, but I had to say it. Before I could stop the words, literally, they spilled out of my mouth.

"I had everyone promise that the souls that I saved would have safe transport off this planet. Why would you do this, Melanie?" Tears were in my eyes and then I went over and hugged Mel. The storm was over, she could tell that. So we sat there, unmoving, for at least 10 minutes. By the time we pulled ourselves together, the front of my shirt was very wet with our tears. Mel looks awful; I bet I do too, so I sit for another five minutes, letting my face lose the red blotches that covered it. I was just starting the car when Melanie let out very happy, very _loud_, squeal. Yes, an actual squeal. I turn around and see Jamie's clear brown eyes staring back at me. Mel's arms wrapped securely around him. I let out a squeal myself and flung my body in the back of the car too.

***

"JAMIE!" I scream, dang, I need to lower the volume a bit, "Jamie, I thought you would never wake up. Oh, Jamie!" I let out a long breath; I think I've been holding it since he didn't immediately wake up. Thank goodness he woke up. I wouldn't be able to go on this search if he hadn't made it. Thank goodness.

**Ok, here is the deal. I am having a MAJOR writer's block. I need some plot ideas. I really want to get into the story and not just flat out say "This happened, and then this happened, the end!" That is not gonna fly. So, if you want the story to go a certain way all you have to do is REVIEW! I need to know what to do! Please, oh please, with cherries on top, review.**


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